During the Intermediate years, we continue to develop Independence, Community Membership, and Academic Fluency.  3rd, 4th, and 5th grades are years when students become increasingly independent and self-motivated learners.

The advisors’ role in the intermediate is to guide students to greater levels of intrinsic curiosity and drive, while at the same time carefully supporting and scaffolding their learning.  Students also begin to take on more significant roles in our school community: we buddy with high schoolers, lead and participate in class and grade-level meetings, and contribute our energy to service and art projects throughout the school and the neighborhood.

The 3-4-5 is also a place of serious academic rigor, as students write and revise in process, read and discuss high-quality literature, analyze and apply a variety of mathematical concepts and processes, make serious learning inquiries into scientific questions, and explore their world through history and current events.

In the Intermediate program, students stay with one adviser throughout the day.  There are some exceptions to this: sometimes students work in challenge-level cohorts; sometimes two or more advisers will work together on a project or a unit; and often we simply pop into each others’ room to take a peek or lend a hand.

Students in the Intermediate grades are given many opportunities to drive the direction and pace of their own learning; to experience hands-on, inquiry-based lessons and units of study; and to take on leadership roles among their peers.  Each student learns differently, and in the 3-4-5 each student learns deeply.  There are many presentations of learning throughout the year, which give the students a chance to demonstrate the serious, meaningful work they do during their Intermediate years at Trillium.